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Mission Animation: Europa Flyby

Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Published: May 16, 2022

This animation shows NASA’s Europa Clipper during a flyby of Europa.

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An engineering model of the focal plane module for Europa Clipper’s E-THEMIS instrument. 
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close-up view of the focal plane module of E-THEMIS
Europa Clipper E-THEMIS Thermal Camera Focal Plane Module
Jupiter and its four planet-size moons, called the Galilean satellites, were photographed in early March 1979 by Voyager 1 and assembled into this collage. 
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Jupiter and its four largest moons
Jupiter System Montage
Join team members from NASA’s Europa Clipper mission behind the scenes in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to learn about the design of this spacecraft that will visit Europa, an ic...
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Join team members from NASA’s Europa Clipper mission behind the scenes in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to learn about the design of this spacecraft that will visit Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter.
Spacecraft Makers: Introducing Europa Clipper
Europa Clipper’s power control and distribution assembly is lowered into the spacecraft’s electronics vault. 
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In a sterile white room, five people wearing white full-body coveralls, gloves, and masks monitor a metal box about the size of a microwave oven as a crane lowers the box in to a larger hollow metal box about six feet wide.
Power Control and Distribution Assembly Integration
The Europa Clipper Magnetometer (ECM) sensor. At left is the interior of the sensor that will measure Europa’s magnetic field, along with the sensor’s pigtail harness. 
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close-up view of the Europa Clipper magnetometer's sensor
Europa Clipper Magnetometer (ECM) Sensor
This view of the Conamara Chaos region on Jupiter's moon Europa taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft shows an area where the icy surface has been broken into many separate plates that have moved late...
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black and white view of rough terrain on an icy surface
Chaotic Terrain on Europa in Very High Resolution
Researchers at Langley prepare to move the high gain antenna for  into the Experimental Test Range at the NASA Langley Research Center. 
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Researchers stand next to Europa Clipper’s high gain antenna, which is taller than a person and is painted dark black, as they prepare to move it into a testing facility.
High Gain Antenna Testing
NASA hosted a Science Chat May 14 to discuss the latest analysis of Jupiter’s moon Europa and its status as one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for life. 
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NASA hosted a Science Chat May 14 to discuss the latest analysis of Jupiter’s moon Europa
NASA Hosts Live Science Chat about Europa Findings
Europa Clipper’s mass spectrometer is examined following delivery to JPL in December 2022.
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Europa Clipper’s mass spectrometer takes up the middle of this image. The instrument consists of a long cylinder, several feet tall and a couple of inches in diameter. It takes the shape of an automobile spark plug, with a series of ridges visible at the top. Copper plating and wires extend from the instrument in multiple areas. The instrument is installed on a supportive structure. Engineers are visible in the background working.
Europa Clipper's Mass Spectrometer Delivered to JPL
Final shipment preparations being made to Europa Clipper's ultraviolet spectrograph. 
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Final shipment preparations being made to Europa Clipper's ultraviolet spectrograph.
Ultraviolet Spectrograph Shipment Preparations
Members of the Europa Clipper team work on the spacecraft’s heat redistribution system at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2019.
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Members of the Europa Clipper team work on the spacecraft’s heat redistribution system at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2019.
Europa Clipper's Thermal Tubing
Solar array “wings” for NASA’s Europa Clipper in the cleanroom of Airbus in Leiden, the Netherlands.
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The spacecraft’s large solar array wings take up the majority of this image. They are parallel to each other in position and the image is taken at angle, so you can see the solar arrays extended into the background of the image. Each solar array wing consists of five panels connected to each other to form a long solar array wing that is approximately 46.5 feet (14.2 meters) long. Bronze colored lines are visible creating a grid pattern on each panel. Each solar array wing is hoisted several feet above the ground by support structures that attach to each solar array wing panel. The solar array wings are tall with an approximate height of 13.5 feet (4.1 meters). Walking between the solar array wings is an engineer wearing blue protective clothing. The engineer doesn’t even appear to come up to half the height of the solar array wings. The solar array wings are visible in a large white cleanroom, and the area with the wings is cordoned off with a red barrier.
NASA Europa Clipper Solar Arrays Assembly
This image shows two views of the trailing hemisphere of Jupiter's ice-covered satellite, Europa.
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two full-disc views
Natural and False Color Views of Europa
An engineering model of Europa Clipper's MASPEX instrument.
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An engineering model of Europa Clipper's MASPEX instrument.
MAss Spectrometer for Planetary EXploration/Europa (MASPEX)
This is an image from Europa Clipper’s thermal imager science instrument. The image was taken during the instrument's first-light test.
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An image from Europa Clipper’s thermal imager science instrument (called E-THEMIS).
Thermal Imager's First Light Image
Engineers in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory build the nadir deck for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. The deck will stabilize the spacecraft’s sensors and help the mission team e...
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Engineers in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California build the nadir deck for NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft.
Building a Nadir Deck for Europa Clipper
This animation segment shows NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft leaving Earth. 
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An animation showing the rocket carrying the Europa Clipper spacecraft leaving Earth.
Mission Animation: Launch
A close-up view of the poem on the Europa Clipper vault plate’s inward-facing side.
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This is a close-up view of the poem on the Europa Clipper vault plate’s inward-facing side. It shows a handwritten poem in elegant script, and an engraved portrait of man to the left of the poem.
Europa Clipper Vault Plate - Poem Close-Up
The image on the left shows a region of Europa's crust made up of blocks which are thought to have broken apart and "rafted" into new positions. 
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color full disc view of moon with higher res section called out
Blocks in the Europan Crust Provide More Evidence of Subterranean Ocean
Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center guide Europa Clipper as a crane hoists the spacecraft on May 28, 2024.
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Workers in blue overalls and white head covers help guide Europa Clipper as a crane hoists it as part of prelaunch processing.
Europa Clipper Rotated at KSC
This mosaic of an area just southeast of the multi-ring impact structure called Tyre combines two sets of images.
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Black and white image of terrain.
Rugged Terrain
Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare to rotate Europa Clipper to a vertical position on May 28, 2024, as part of prelaunch processing. 
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Workers in blue overalls and white head covers watch as equipment is used to rotate Europa Clipper.
Europa Clipper Spacecraft Rotate to Vertical, Lift and Mate to Work Stand
Thermal imager test for focus and optical quality.
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Two engineers at a computer.
Thermal Imager Test
This computer-generated perspective view of the Pwyll impact crater on Jupiter's moon Europa was created using images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft.
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side view of crater showing topography with color representing altitudes
Pwyll Impact Crater: Perspective View of Topographic Model
Mechanical engineers set up Europa Clipper's Wide Angle Camera outside of a thermal-vacuum chamber.
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Mechanical engineers set up Europa Clipper's Wide Angle Camera outside of a thermal-vacuum chamber.
Europa Imaging System Wide Angle Camera